Descendant of famous Titanic couple among submersible pilot's family
Wendy Rush, the spouse of Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, who was piloting the submersible that went missing during a dive to the Titanic wreckage, has an ancestral connection to a prominent couple aboard the ill-fated ship, according to The New York Post.
Archival records confirm that Wendy Rush is the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor Straus and his wife, Ida, who were wealthy first-class passengers on the Titanic's maiden voyage. Isidor Straus, a co-owner of Macy's department store, was born in 1845.
Wendy Rush, formerly known as Wendy Hollings Weil, married Stockton Rush in 1986. Her LinkedIn profile reveals her involvement in three OceanGate expeditions to the Titanic wreckage over the past two years. She currently serves as the company's communications director and has been a board member of their charitable foundation for a long time.
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Efforts to reach Ms. Rush for comment were unsuccessful at the time of this report.
The Straus couple is famously remembered for their tragic love story during the Titanic disaster. Eyewitnesses recounted Isidor Straus refusing a seat on a lifeboat while women and children were still waiting to be rescued. Ida Straus, his devoted wife of forty years, chose to stay by his side, and they were last seen arm in arm on the ship's deck as it sank.
Director James Cameron immortalized a fictionalized version of the Strauses' story in his 1997 film about the Titanic, featuring a poignant scene of an elderly couple embracing as the waters rise around them.
Ms. Rush is a descendant of the Strauses' daughter, Minnie, who married Dr. Richard Weil in 1905. Their son, Richard Weil Jr., later became the president of Macy's New York. Ms. Rush's father, Dr. Richard Weil III, is the grandson of Minnie and Richard Weil Jr., according to Joan Adler, the executive director of the Straus Historical Society.
Isidor Straus's body was recovered at sea approximately two weeks after the Titanic sank, as documented in New York Times archives. However, Ida Straus's remains were never found.
